Loyalty
by Beautiful Snow Queen
Summary: Set after the "woods". Scotty is trying to find out what happened up in the attic, and being a loyal friend means that he's going to find out so that he can help heal Lilly's pain.


Lilly just stood there frozen in shock at what she had done. The man who had haunted her- mocked her- these last few months was finally dead; but, at her hands. John was standing at the door way, followed by CSU. It took a few minutes for Lilly to realize that they were processing the scene. She passed her gun to John, then headed downstairs and out into the garden.

She was plagued by the memories there of the past. As she forced herself to suppress them and build a temporary wall around them until she got home and built them back permanently, she looked up, and would've sworn that she saw the ghost of Simone Marks and a twelve year old George. She then turned to her teammates who were circled behind her, and suddenly felt like the ten year old again- not with people who would harm her and take advantage of her; but, people she could come to for comfort and support when she needed it. It was now, she realized that she needed it, as she turned to them. However, she didn't need to breakdown at the place she was almost killed. She followed the trail to the front of the house followed by Vera, Jeffries, Valens, and finally Stillman.

L

Scotty froze when he heard the gun shots. Lilly was either dead, or she was injured and George had shot her three times; Lilly had managed to get off a shot and either kill or injure George; Stillman came in, George shot Lil, then tried to catch Stillman, but missed, and Stillman shot him. He paced the lot impatiently, praying that Lilly was alright. A few minutes later, his prayer was answered as Lilly came out unharmed. He wanted to go over there and comfort her, but something held him back when he saw the tear tracks on her face. That son of a gun had broken her. All Scotty wanted to do was kill him, but someone else had probably beat him to it.

He let her go, and watched as she gathered herself. She seemed so vulnerable. So fragile- and Scotty knew that things were never going to be the same between them. Especially after the Christina incident.

L

John watched as the detective who was like a daughter to him gave him her gun and walked downstairs. He could tell that she had been crying- that George had broken her. He knew what they probably talked about, and that angered him. He knew about what happened- how Robert Part had beaten Lilly as a ten year old girl. It angered him how George could get around Lilly's walls so easily and under her skin. This was probably the only person Lilly was ever afraid of. Such a fragile soul should never have had to go through this.

L

When Vera and Jeffries arrived at the scene, they both feared the worst. When they saw Lilly though, they nearly jumped for joy- had it not been for seeing her so sad and disheveled. She looked as bad as they all felt. When she turned to them, though, she gave them a small smile and headed out. "I'll take her home," Scotty volunteered.

"I'm fine, Scotty," Lilly said irritably.

"No, you're not, Lil," Stillman said firmly. "Let Scotty take you home, we'll handle the rest."

Lilly sighed, but was in no mood to get into an argument with Stillman after she had disobeyed his orders in the first place. She slid into the passenger side of the car and Scotty got in and took the keys from her. After a few minutes of silence, Scotty couldn't help but ask. "What happened up there. Lil?"

"What?" she asled. as if coming out of a daze.

"What happened in the attic?"

Lilly sighed. "Do we really have to talk about this now?"

"Yes." Scotty said. "Look, this is the first time in over a month that we've talked to each other without you giving me the Ice Queen mask. I'd hate to see that all over again because some psycho decided to toy with your mind."

"He wasn't... toying with my mind," Lilly said hesitantly.

"Then what was he doing?" Scotty asked.

"He-he brought something in my past that he forced me to tell him about. It's something that I've wanted to tell someone for a long time, but not him. I would've even told you while you were dating... Chris... if it meant not telling him."

"Who else knows about this?" Scotty asked gently.

"Just Stillman- he's the one who caught the man who attacked me."

Scotty looked at her curiously, but continued driving. There was a tense silence between them for a few minutes, and then Scotty broke it. "So what happened all those years ago?"

Lilly looked up at him. "Not now, Scotty, please..."

"Lil," he said gently. "If you don't tell me now, you never will. Please, I want to help you."

Lilly was silent for a few more minutes, and Scotty was afraid she wasn't going to tell him. "When I was ten," she said, her voice cracking. "My mother sent me to the store for a drink. The owner knew me. I was chased into an alley; he wanted my money, so i gave him what I had..." She sniffed as a tear began trailing down her face. "That's when he began hitting me. I fought, but he wouldn't stop- he just kept hitting me and hitting me... and laughing. "

Scotty placed his hand on top of hers, letting her know that she could stop; he could tell it was becoming too painful for her to continue. "I'm sorry," was all he could say.

When they reached her apartment, she invited him inside. "You can sleep on the daybed tonight," Lilly offered; it was late and there was no point in him going home now. "I'll go get a pillow and some blankets."

"Thanks," Scotty said. After all that had happened tonight, there was no way he was letting her out of his sight. She came back a minute later and placed the things on the bed. Scotty smiled. "If you want to talk, Lil, I'm here for you."

She returned it. "Thanks, Scotty." Then she left him there.

Scotty fell asleep, hoping that the next day would be better. For both of them.


End file.
